Boots' Ricoh-made 1980s 35mm compact — fixed-focus 35mm f/4.5 lens, manual ISO selector, flash, 2x AA
The Boots C35FF is a 35mm point-and-shoot sold under the own brand of Boots the Chemists, the UK high-street pharmacy, in the 1980s. It was manufactured by Ricoh and carries a Ricoh-branded lens, part of a long tradition of Boots selling rebadged Japanese cameras through its photo counters; sources describe it as a rebadge of a Ricoh design from the same era.
It has a fixed-focus Ricoh 35mm f/4.5 lens and a shutter fixed at around 1/125s, with exposure adjusted via a manual film-speed selector offering ISO 100, 200 and 400 settings rather than DX coding. There is a built-in flash with manual control and automatic film advance, and the camera runs on two AA batteries. The FF in the name denotes its focus-free operation.
The manual ISO selector is the interesting quirk: setting it a stop off deliberately lets users push or pull exposure, a rare trick on a focus-free compact. Combined with a decent Ricoh lens it has become a minor favourite among UK film shooters wanting a characterful, cheap street camera. Fixed shutter speed means it is happiest outdoors in reasonable light.
These usually surface in UK house clearances and often still work. Test with fresh AA cells that the advance motor winds and the flash charges, check the battery compartment for leak corrosion, and make sure the film door closes snugly. The lens surround and flash slider are plastic and worth checking for cracks; film-tested examples command a premium over untested ones.